


(500) Days of Sohinki

by Stelia22



Category: Smosh
Genre: Alternate Universe - (500) Days of Summer Fusion, Alternate Universe - Movie Fusion, Engagement, M/M, Marriage, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-20
Updated: 2017-03-30
Packaged: 2018-09-25 19:47:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9841268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stelia22/pseuds/Stelia22
Summary: Joven meets Sohinki on September 20.But this is not a love story.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> (500) Days of Summer is my favourite movie. I love its themes, messages, how it breaks away from stereotypes and romantic comedy cliches, plays with your expectations and its very human situations and characters. I'd been thinking about writing a Jovinki version of 500 Days for several months but got stuck in "role designations". But that, as well as being a soundboard and inspiration, was what my lovely friend Anna was for. Thank you Anna!
> 
> This fanfic is also being cross-posted on Wattpad under the same title and username.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a multi-media fanfic. It has a soundtrack and outfit pictures (especially for Sohinki). Each song and picture is included in the fanfic. The full playlist will be available on my YouTube channel Stelia22 upon this fanfic's completion (or sooner upon request). However, the multi-media content will only start in chapter 2.

_**(500) Days of Sohinki**_   Cover created by Stelia22

 

(488)

Sohinki was leaning into him, head on his shoulder, just like he'd always done once he'd gotten comfortable with it. It had taken a long time, but Joven had always known to let him go at his own pace.

As if he'd heard Joven's thoughts, a little smile broke out on Sohinki's face. And there, right there, were the fruits of Joven's efforts.

In the ring glinting on his finger.

(When you read a work of fiction, what do you see? The grand, sweeping romance; of two soulmates coming together, no matter the circumstances – no matter what else is happening in the story. Of two people always meant to be, the inevitable dropped throughout the story like bird poops on trees. A long line of interactions, a mix of hurt and drama and affection, before ending with the couple ready to begin their lives together.

This is the environment that Joshua Ovenshire – also known as Jovenshire or Joven – grew up in. A Californian citizen of Rowland Heights, he grew up believing that he'd never truly be happy until the day he met, "The One". This belief stemmed from heavy denial of his parents' divorce and the aforementioned pop culture knowledge.

Matt Sohinki, originally of the state of Virginia then of Sanford, North Carolina, did not share this belief. The development of Sohinki's stubborn determination and flawless gaming record coincided with the disintegration of his parents' marriage.

Joven meets Sohinki on September 20. He knows almost immediately that he's The One he's been searching for.

So this is a story of two people coming together. But first and foremost, this is not a love story.)

Save

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! This short prologue will be followed by a short first chapter tomorrow and then the second chapter the day after. The second chapter onwards will be longer and more in depth. As always, let me know what you think in the comments below.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Background: Luke Ovenshire is Joven's little brother.

(290)

"I think we should stop seeing each other," Sohinki said.

He had to be joking. Sure, it was the first time he'd joked like _that_ , but his I'm-gonna-troll-you-so-hard laughter rang clearly in Joven's head. It had to be playing out in Sohinki's head too.

But then he saw the abnormally serious expression on his face.

"What?" Joven snapped.

Nothing. Just an even, wide-eyed look.

" _Seriously?_ " Joven exclaimed.

Sohinki's eyes cast down to their shared café table.

Maybe this was a really, really elaborate prank and Sohinki was holding back a smirk that Joven couldn't see.

Cars whirled past windows. People bustled around the café.

Joven paid them no attention.

He just stared at Sohinki, looking for any of those little signs he had that things hadn't actually gone sour.

But nothing.

And when Sohinki looked up, the expression on his face made Joven wish that he hadn't. "You wanna know why?" Sohinki asked him.

"No I don't. You're not breaking up with me you can't be," Joven's voice broke with desperation.

Sohinki sighed, as though it should have been obvious from the beginning. Or that Joven was so fucking slow that he was a snail crawling through quicksand and Sohinki was trying to save him from himself.

"Look, Joven –" Sohinki clenched his fists, sigh punching its way out of his now-pursed lips. "We've been completely dysfunctional for months now."

"No we haven't!" Joven protested.

"We're always screaming our heads off at each other!" Sohinki rebutted.

The shadows of the café workers lingered as they moved around them, crockery clinking as they cleaned and set up tables.

"Yeah but that doesn't matter. We all have good and bad parts to relationships, right? And the good parts are great."

"Yes..." Sohinki trailed off.

"So it doesn't matter. I'm happy with you."

"Of course it matters. And I'm not."

"You're not what?"

"Happy with you."

Joven froze. "Of course you're happy with me, you said so yourself!"

Sohinki sighed wearily. "Yeah, I know I did, but things change."

"What, like _life?_ " Joven snarled.

"Yes."

How the hell could Sohinki say something like _that_ with inflexion, yet be so flippant about –

The clinking of plates rang through Joven's ears. It was the waitress with their food: pancakes.

Joven cursed to himself. This had to happen at the worst possible time, didn't it?

Sohinki thanked the waitress with a terse smile and then it was just Joven, Sohinki and their lumpy pancakes.

Sohinki's teeth were gritted, eyes screwed shut; like he was desperate to tell Joven something. Something more, like he hadn't already said too much shit already. Joven quickly quelled his resentment. Maybe this would be when Sohinki would tell him that maybe they would actually work out –

"And like, when I say things change, I also mean things like making the realisation that this isn't real."

" _What_ isn't real?"

"Us!"

"Us?" Joven frowned. "We're real, aren't we? Like we exist?" Joven paused. "Like, here?" He gestured around them at the half-empty café. "In the café?" he added helplessly.

"No – Joven –" Sohinki pursed his lips, clenching his cutlery with white knuckles. "That's not what I meant."

"Then what _do_ you mean then?"

"Like _us_ , this – you know what?" Sohinki finally picked up his fork and knife, somehow clutching them even more tightly. "Let's just eat and we'll talk about it later," he mumbled into his plate.

Joven just stared at him blankly, slack-jawed.

Sohinki wasn't the type of deflect like that.

But Joven just – he didn't _get_ it. He hadn't done anything wrong. They'd been – were, _are_ – happy together. They smiled and laughed and played video games together and went up to _their_ place on top of –

Sohinki's utensils clashed unpleasantly as he bit into his food. "This is cool," he said neutrally after he'd swallowed.

Joven's stomach rolled.

"We should come here again," Sohinki was saying now.

The table was suddenly very interesting. Oh look, there was one stain –

"I love these pancakes," Sohinki stated.

Joven glared at him.

Sohinki stared back at him blankly. "What?"

He sounded the _exact fucking same_ , like they hadn't just broken up, like this hadn't just been the end of the best thing Joven had ever known –

Joven pushed himself up and stormed off.

"Wait, Joven, we can still be friends!"

*~*

"And that's what happened," Joven said, burying his face in his hands yet again. Empty bottles of alcohol were strewed around him.

His friends and brother looked on silently, worried expressions on their faces. Joven just slumped into his sofa further.

"Things were going so _well_ ," he moaned for the millionth time.

He was so drunk that even that small movement of his lips caused his head to spin again. He groaned, clutching his forehead to try to stop the needle-sharp pain from bursting out of his skull.

Kissing outside Sohinki's front door, Joven comforting Sohinki as he cried, holding hands in Sohinki's bed together...

Breaking out the bottle had helped numb the pain. He'd just chugged and chugged and chugged; whatever was there in the house. But just minutes later he'd woken up to the hangover from hell and his brother looming over him, worried furrow in his brow. After some dazed moving around, in which his bones kept cracking from his weird sleeping position, it hit him that the night sky was out.

And that Mari, Flitz and Wes were here too. Which is how he ended up telling them all – including his brother – what had happened.

Not that any of them got it.

"People have broken up with you before why are you so hung over about this?" Mari was telling him.

"Yeah, there are plenty of people out there." Flitz was saying.

"You'll come back from this Joven," Luke insisted.

"You'll find someone else. It'll be fine –" Wes added.

"You don't understand!" Joven roared.

Everyone fell silent.

"We don't?" Mari asked tentatively, the brave one to take the first step. "Why don't we understand?"

She was speaking to him like a _child_. Joven hated it, but he knew that she just _didn't get it yet_.

"Because it's Sohinki." Joven answered with a flourish.

He was met with a circle of blank stares.

Then Flitz was shaking his head, and what the fuck –

"Joven, look. I know we don't tell you this much, but you're a great guy. This is just one failed relationship. With every door that closes, another one opens. But in order to actually open that door and move on, you have to accept that this one – your relationship with Sohinki – has closed."

He could see the images already, as if it were in a film; of two doors, side by side. The left one was thrown right open and the other one was closed. The left one was filled with bright skies, peaceful clouds and luscious green grass; the essence of what he and Sohinki had had. But that door was creaking closed and panic leapt in Joven's chest, his arm shoving forward to try and wedge a hand in the door to happiness. But no matter how much he strained himself he couldn't reach it. The door swung shut with the finality of death.

Then the other door creaked open, ostriches spiralling around Joven's gut at what could be behind it.

It was worse than death.

"Yeah, like Flitz said, this is a new beginning. It'll be fine, Joven." Wes added. "But you have to get over Sohinki."

Joven's throat closed up. "No."

Because he _couldn't_. He _wouldn't_. Because Sohinki was the only one for him. The only person that could ever make him happy.

Then suddenly it hit him.

When Sohinki had said those last words, there'd been desperation in his voice. The type of desperation that meant he cared. He _cared_ about Joven. So why the fuck did he say he didn't care in _that_ way even though he did?

Maybe he was scared? He'd been scared before, Joven remembered, of the two of them getting serious. And then they had gotten serious. Then Sohinki had broken up with him.

And Joven had just walked away.

Fuck. Why had he done that? Why had he left that café?

"I'm not going to get over him. I'm going to get him back," he growled in determination.

It was his first clear thought of the night.


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The start of the multi-media content and the meat of this fanfic. Remember to look out for music and outfit pictures (especially for Sohinki). There are specific reasons why I have chosen each piece of media =).

(1)

Joven was slouched back in his chair at the back of the meeting room, waiting for the boss to come in for the group meeting. Flitz, who was next to him, was saying a bunch of words, but Joven barely registered them. Something about a random greeting card idea that he was going to present to the group. Ugh.

Because seriously, how exciting could writing greeting cards get?

Very exciting, Joven would soon find out.

Just then the door to the meeting room opened with a slight creak. There stood Joven's boss – Mr Raub – and an unfamiliar face. Joven perked up immediately, chair screeching against the linoleum.

Because holy moley. This guy was _gorgeous_.

To anybody who said that Joven described everyone as gorgeous – well, they weren't _entirely_ wrong. His friends consisted of the highly attractive Wes, the highly-toned Mari and the very fit Flitz, the latter two of whom had dancer-honed bodies. Not to mention that every girl Joven seemed to run into was drop-dead beauty right out of a magazine.

But Joven wanted to take the world and show them this guy. Because _this guy_ – well, Joven would break it down like this:

A mop of dark brown hair lay flat on the guy's head. It was evenly spread; no quiffs or mohawks or fancy styling. It was ordinary to most people, but Joven knew hidden beauty when he saw it. He had a perfectly trimmed beard that was fully grown in on his face, which was connected to his hair with fully grown in sideburns.

The guy looked young, around the same age as Joven himself, and definitely much shorter than most guys he'd met. It was unusual, but oddly charming and attractive in its own way.

Black sneakers led up to medium-wash blue jeans and a black print t-shirt with Darth Vader on it, with a button-up black and grey Overwatch hoodie on top.

Yes, he was gorgeous.

Flitz snickered beside him, hand covering his mouth to contain his laughter.

Mr Raub, thankfully, noticed none of this. Or if he did, he chose not to comment on it. "Anyway, hey everyone. Before we start this meeting, I'd like to introduce you all to the newest member of our team," he gestured towards the as-of-yet-named _One_ – Joven's _One_. "This is - what would you like to be called, Sohinki?"

The guy – Sohinki, what a beautiful name – just shrugged and said, "That's fine."

And his voice – oh that voice – was slightly deep and definitely masculine. He'd said those words so softly, almost a murmur. Like a caress, not so much as setting the world ablaze as much as lighting it up with the gentle fire of a million suns.

And as he sat down in the empty chair diagonally across from Joven, he smiled at everyone around the room, this little upturn of the lips that Joven found utterly adorable.

"Hey," Sohinki said to everyone in what would have been a murmur if hadn't been loud enough for everyone to hear him. "It's nice to meet you all."

And Joven was instantly smitten.

(Sohinki, for the most part, was un-extraordinary. He wasn't a criminal, nor an elite athlete. So for all intents and purposes, Matt Sohinki was just another guy. Except he wasn't.

His time in the video game club at Syracuse University in the year 2006 was marked by his opinion that the Sega Genesis was the best 16-bit console. This spike in demand for the Sega Genesis in the state of New York still puzzles data analysts.

Sohinki's employment at the local coffee shop over the course of a year coincided with an inexplicable two thousand dollars increase in revenue per month.

Every apartment Sohinki rented in was offered at an average rate of 8.13% below market value. And the bright red car that he used to commute to work inspired around 18.4 double takes per day.

It was rare, this Sohinki effect, yet it was a phenomena that every person has encountered at least once in their lives. For Joven to find this now in a city of 3.8 million people and way too many commercial buildings, there was only one explanation: fate.)

_______________________________________

(4)

Work had wrapped up for the day and Joven couldn't wait to get back home. The lift sure was crawling up as slowly as it possibly could today. Like every other day. Even the tweets he was reading and the music in his ears couldn't keep him occupied.

A million years later the lift finally dinged. A single boring chime like always.

It was the best thing that had happened the entire day.

Joven stepped in without looking up from his phone before pressing the close button, since he was the only one there.

Until he wasn't.

A small hand was shoved abruptly between the doors right as they were about to fully close. The doors jolted to a halt then slid open. And there was Sohinki, hastily slipping in with an adorable, grateful smile.

Excitement bubbled in Joven's stomach, as though a can of coke had been cracked and life had fizzled out of it.

Of course, that was when a knot of awkwardness formed in Joven's stomach.

Then the doors slid closed and the lift started going down.

Joven kept his gaze off to the side, away from Sohinki. He was trying be all cool and chill and uncaring like his reputation bound him to be. Normally this would have meant throwing some bad pick-up lines, maybe a swagger in his hips as he sauntered closer to him.

The reality was standing there like Sohinki wasn't even there.

A hard task, certainly. The anticipatory energy of what _could_ happen was thrumming through Joven's veins, going _thump thump thump_ the longer it was left unattended. A life coloured by the chaos of trouble could begin right here.

The only reason he didn't sneak constant glances at Sohinki was because there was a tiny part of his brain – it wasn't _big_ OK, shut up – that didn't really like it when other people were in the lift with him.

Look, call him having an unpopular opinion, but it was true. One of the few times Joven got alone time would be snatched away by lots of old, smelly and/or fat people crammed up against him in a tiny space. It sucked. It didn't happen often, but it still sucked.

(And yes, he had his car to be alone in. But still. He had to grab every moment he could get.)

 _He had to grab every moment he could get_.

Oh.

That's when he noticed that Sohinki's mouth was moving.

But he couldn't hear what he was saying.

"What?" Joven whipped out his earphones, buds clattering down to hang on his chest.

"Prince?"

And now Joven was confused. Great.

Sohinki was pointing back and forth between Joven and his earphones, and what was going _on_ – ?

"I love Prince," Sohinki straightened up, shoving his hands into his jean pockets. How had Joven not noticed his amazing body posture, or how he looked like a model with his hands like that? "Your earphones –"

Sohinki was once again pointing back and forth between the earphones and Joven. Joven was still staring at him, mouth having dropped open without him noticing. His mind had gone completely blank. But then the chorus to the song blasted out from Joven's earphones and _oh_.

"You – you've got nice music –" Sohinki was now saying.

"You love Prince," Joven stumbled out at the same time.

Sohinki nodded. "Yeah. _So tonight I'm gonna party like it's nineteen ninety-nine_ ," he sang. "I love him." He smiled.

Joven stared at him, because holy shit he had a really good voice. He could only imagine what he'd sound like if he crooned out some Frank Sinatra.

Ding.

The elevator doors slid open and then Sohinki was gone.

Joven, of course, was left staring after him like an idiot, because apparently this is what he had been reduced to: a fucking idiot.

Then the doors closed and the elevator went down again.

_______________________________________

 

(8)

"HAPPY ENGAGEMENT DAVID!" read a nearby poster.

The celebratory party was in full swing right now. It wasn't actually all that exciting; it was at work and it was a small party, so nothing fun was allowed, ie. strong alcohol, which was what Joven liked. There was just some cake and glasses of champagne, people sitting around and talking.

But the significance of _'engagement'_ wasn't lost on him.

And David _was_ a dear friend, but Joven had more important pursuits: Sohinki. More specifically, getting a glass of champagne to Sohinki.

After brushing past countless pairs of people and then Flitz, who'd eagerly reached out for the second glass in Joven's hand and had thankfully failed to get it, Joven finally reached Sohinki. He'd been easy to find – the only one wearing a black and grey Overwatch button up hoodie, t-shirt and jeans – and he was off to the side on his own. Perfect.

"Sohinki," he held out a glass for him.

"Hello," Sohinki greeted him, not taking the glass. "I've seen you before," he nodded in acknowledgement. "In the uh, in the lift right? With Prince?"

"Yeah you have," Joven flirted not-so-subtly. When this had no effect, Joven fumbled, "I'm Joven." Having made his not-so-smooth introduction, he held the second glass out for him further. "Want some champagne?"

Sohinki's lips upturned into something that could have been a smile as he took the glass carefully. "Sure," he murmured.

"So, uh – " Joven mumbled.

"How's your day been going?" Sohinki asked smoothly.

"It's not bad. Pretty busy," he replied without missing a beat.

"That's cool."

There were a few moments of silence, the quiet matching the hushed voices that they'd been talking with.

Joven's heart soared.

Sohinki, of course, was just as chill and calm as ever. Some part of Joven – what part of him, he didn't know – knew that this was just a Sohinki thing, and that made him love him even more.

"So uh, you do anything cool this weekend?" Joven murmured in question, not wanting this to end just yet.

"I uh – you know, I played some games and –"

"– oh OK –"

"– I moved here –"

"Wait, _what_?" Joven asked at normal volume, breaking the spell of murmurs that they'd just traded.

Sohinki was staring at him like it should have been obvious.

Except it totally _wasn't_. "You _moved_ here?" Joven exclaimed. "Like, uprooted from wherever you were before and just moved here? Like...on Saturday or something?"

Sohinki nodded. "Yeah, I moved here on Saturday. I got an apartment nearby. It's nice."

"Where did you move from?"

"North Carolina."

"North Carolina?" Joven raised his eyebrows in shock. At Sohinki's nod, he added, "Wow, that's really far. That's East Coast, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Were you in North Carolina for a long time then, and just –" he mushed both of his hands together, fingers interlocking, to indicate, well, _coming together_ , "it all worked out with the job and the – what was it, the apartment?"

"Pretty much, yeah. I went to college in New York though."

"Wow." Joven took a sip of his champagne. He grimaced. God that shit was gross.

Sohinki, Joven realised with a start, still hadn't taken a sip. He must have psychic powers, Joven decided, because there was no other reason for Sohinki not taking a drink other than him knowing beforehand that the champagne would taste like sewerage in a can Joven envied him in that moment. He'd need bleach to wash out the stench in his mouth.

"So you know about me. I don't know about you, though." Sohinki said.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, when did you move here, how long have you been working here for, those sorts of things."

Joven could tell that Sohinki was genuinely interested in Joven's answers, like he was new and exciting. Which, well, he was, but it was _Sohinki_ so everything was different.

"I'm from a little town called Rowland Heights in Southern California, but I moved up here a while ago," Joven answered easily. "I've been working here for – oh, like, three, four years." At this, he gave a little shrug, but even Joven himself didn't know what for.

"Wow," Sohinki replied, an unintentional echo of Joven's own words. "So you've been here a while then."

"Yeah."

"Have you always wanted to write greeting cards?"

Joven shrugged. "It pays well enough."

Sohinki's eyebrows flew up. He somehow managed to be sceptical and inquisitive at the same time. It was another thing that was just so _Sohinki_.

" ' _It pays well enough,'_ " Sohinki echoed. "Is that it, then? Is that why you're here?"

Joven shrugged. "Na, not really," Except it was. "Boredom, mostly – you know, I was bored where I was so I moved here," he paused amongst his fast-paced rambling. "But also because I needed a job and this is what they had." Well shit. "But also because I needed something new and exciting," he finished even more quickly.

Regret clogged up his throat with unpleasant tangy residue.

"But you don't like it," Sohinki stated, turning to look at him fully. And how did he even _know_ when Joven's closest friends had no idea of it? Sohinki's gaze was somehow piercing and fleeting at the same time, like he was the wind. "So you should do something else then."

And he was so _earnest_ and invested and _interested_ that the words just tumbled out of Joven's mouth.

"Well, I wanted to be on camera – as a presenter, you know," he confessed. "– but –" At Sohinki's minute tilt of the head, Joven shrugged nonchalantly, even as memories of long, exhausting but rewarding nights in college doing media work flooded his head. "- it just didn't work out."

"So you needed a job and you came here." There was a little...what was it, in Sohinki's voice? Joven couldn't quite tell, but it had the vague beginnings of disappointment and resignation.

"Yeees," Joven said with one big nod, dragging out the word. He was now leaning on his left hip, glass clutched in his hand, right knee bouncing up and down.

"Are you any good?" Sohinki asked.

"The best," Joven answered flippantly.

"As a presenter?"

"Wait – what?" Joven was startled. "I thought you were asking me as a greeting card writer."

"Really?" Sohinki raised his eyebrows. "Well OK then." He said, even though it totally sounded like he didn't believe him.

And Joven came up with an idea.

"Come on, I'll show you," he said eagerly, already dashing off.

After a few moments, Joven didn't hear footsteps, so he genuinely thought that Sohinki hadn't followed him. But when he turned back, Sohinki had started walking after him and Joven sighed with relief.

Over at Joven's desk, he picked up the nearest greeting card he'd written, which was laying on the divider between his and Flitz's desks.

"Well," he said with undisguised bravado, handing the card over with a flourish. Sohinki took it carefully and opened it.

" ' _You're a bat_.' " Sohinki read out. Joven grinned, waiting for the punchline he knew was coming. " _'Because what's blind, but can see? You're still awesome, happy birthday.'_ "

"I wrote that one," Joven preened, chest sticking out.

Sohinki chuckled. "You know bats aren't actually blind, right?" When Joven opened his mouth to retort, Sohinki added, "But anyway, that's cool." He put down the card. "So, back to what I was saying earlier, are you any good as a presenter?"

"Excellent, I think," Joven answered easily.

"Well, you should go for it." And it was so easy, so _simple_ , when he said it like that. "I know it's hard to get into the entertainment industry but –" Sohinki shrugged. "Just apply for everything."

"I –"

"You never know," Sohinki added rapidly, as though the thought had just come to him and he couldn't possibly wait to say it. Another moment passed. "Anyway, I have to go, so uh, see you later."

And then he was gone. Again.

"Alright, see you later," Joven echoed back, waving with the hand holding the champagne. He jumped as bubbly champagne spilled all over him. He sighed. Well, that was going to be a big stain for the rest of the day.

He waved back with the other hand instead. It was meek, but that was beside the point.

Sohinki didn't see him wave.

Joven sighed, plopping down at his desk. He went back to the video that he'd recorded of himself; his default activity during the long office hours. He looked through it and then edited it for a few moments. Everything looked stupid and jumbled up.

It was futile. And a complete waste of time.

Just another video of his, scrapped into the dust.

_______________________________________

(154)

"I think it's official. I'm in love with Sohinki."

Wes look at him sceptically as they continued walking down the street drinking coffee.

Joven continued, unaware, already lost in thoughts of – "His smile. I love his smile."

"I love his eyes, and his hair."

"I love his beard, and his butt, and the way he looks when he's sleeping."

"I love his laugh, how his eyes will crinkle up and he'll double over when he's laughing really hard."

"I love how he makes me feel," Joven continued, the realisation being easy, inevitable and wonderfully intoxicating. "Like – like we can take on the world together. Like life is worth it, or that anything is possible."

Then opened his eyes – he hadn't even realised that they'd fallen closed – then realised that they'd stopped outside of Joven's apartment.

"Well, this is my stop," Joven said, turning to Wes. "See you later."

Then, with a dopey smile on his face, head already back in the clouds, he unlocked his door, stepped in, and left Wes behind.

Wes stared after him and sighed deeply. "Goddamn it Joven."

 

_______________________________________

(11)

Joven finally got to see Luke again.

After gushing over how Luke had dyed his hair bright red and rushing through the eternity of things that they'd had to catch up on, Joven finally got to what was important: Sohinki.

"He's got the raunchiest humour ever, even though it totally doesn't look like it. One time we traded jokes about how Sleeping Beauty could suck a good dick and he was literally shaking with laughter. And we talked about whoopees and married people for like twenty minutes; we're so perfect for each other it's insane."

Luke sighed heavily, fingers mashing at the Xbox controller as they were playing a game of Halo together. "Seriously Joshua? Just because some guy has the same pervy humour and weird interests that you do doesn't mean that he's yours."

The game finished, with Luke winning.

Joven, who would have normally started spluttering about it – because hell, he was good at Halo – gave Luke a confused look instead. "What do you mean?"

But Luke just grinned at him in victory and never explained what he'd meant.

_______________________________________

 

(22½)

 

"Damn it, it's off," Joven ran through his hair, ruffling it up even more than he already had throughout the day

He, Flitz and Wes were hanging out in a café, playing Trivial Pursuit (Mari had been unable to make it). Right now, Joven was losing (whereas normally he would be winning) but he didn't give a shit.

There were more important things right now.

"What is?" Flitz inquired.

"Me and Sohinki."

"It was never on in the first place," Wes deadpanned, not even looking up from the board.

"It could have been though," Joven insisted. "It _should_ have been. _Should_ be."

"Yeah, well, you just got unlucky this time I guess," Wes dismissed him.

"I'm not living in the right world am I?" Joven sighed, slumping on the table, head on his forearms.

"A world where so-called 'good' things happen to you?" Wes scoffed.

"That's not the real world we live in, Joven," Flitz told him firmly, ever the realistic and philosophical one. "This, right here, is the universe we're in and –"

"So what happened?" Wes interrupted.

Joven took a deep breath and then took off at breath-neck speed. "Look, I gave him _plenty_ of chances of ask me out."

(22)

Joven heard the now familiar shuffling of sneakers against carpet and he looked up with a smile.

Sure enough, Sohinki was there, hand on the edge of Joven's cubicle. He looked particularly lovely today in yet another black print t-shirt – he seemed to have an endless supply of those – and his Overwatch hoodie.

"Hey, do you guys know where the spare paper is? The printer's run out and there's no packs left in the print room."

Joven placed one forearm on his desk and leaned on it with a smirk. "I think where you know where _I_ am," he flirted with a low, sexy voice, not even realising that he'd said 'where' twice.

Sohinki just stared at him unblinkingly, obviously clueless as to the sexual innuendo Joven had just thrown out. A few moments passed in silence – Sohinki probably not even breathing – before he said, "Uh..."

"Back room, second storeroom," Flitz answered instead. Both Joven and Sohinki's heads whipped around, in sync, to look at Flitz.

"Oh, thanks," Sohinki answered, before turning back to give another brief, blank look at Joven.

_Please ask me out, please ask me out, please ask me out..._

But he didn't. Of course he didn't, because sometimes he was oblivious like that.

Because he was already walking away.

How he could instantly die laughing at the most explicit sexual jokes in the world and make such jokes himself at the drop of a hat, yet not understand something like this – as though it were alien and he was completely innocent – was completely and utterly impossible.

 _Impossible, yes,_ Joven realised, staring after him even when he'd disappeared completely. _Sohinki was impossible._

And that's what made him beautiful.

*~*

Work had wrapped up for the day and Joven couldn't have been more excited.

Joven timed it perfectly. He sat at his desk, looking over at Sohinki's desk like he'd done for twenty minutes already. He knew that when Sohinki left, he would have to walk past Joven's desk. And because of that, he had the perfect plan.

Sohinki, of course, was completely absorbed in his work, headphones over his ears, silent as he fiddled around on the computer; no doubt writing another million greeting cards, or maybe listening to music for inspiration. Eventually, though, he took off his headphones and shut his computer down.

Joven's finger was hovering right over the button.

Sohinki stood up, picked up his stuff and then walked out from his cubicle.

This was it.

This was the time to impress Sohinki. To capture his attention, to get the guy, to have the office romance that Joven had been dreaming about for weeks.

When Sohinki was withinwalking distance, Joven hit the key to the music.

" _When 2 R in love_ ," Prince crooned from the desktop speakers.

Joven rotated in his chair, watching as Sohinki got closer.

" _They whisper secrets only they 2 can hear_ , _when 2 R in love_."

Joven hastily turned the music up as Sohinki walked past his desk.

" _When 2 R in love (love), their stomachs will pound, every time the other comes near –_ "

Like Joven's did around Sohinki. Like –

" _When 2 R in love_."

And then Sohinki was gone.

Joven's heart sank.

*~*

"Whatever, it's fine," Joven bemoaned to Flitz and Wes. He clasped his hands together. "Loneliness...it's fine. I don't need this shit, especially after the last one."

Wes and Flitz both winced, knowing how bad the last one had really been.

"I mean, I'll die old and alone, but whatever," Joven shrugged, the words sounding even more ridiculous out aloud than they did in his head.

"You could just ask him out, you know," Wes said.

Joven considered it for a moment, but then scoffed. "Bullshit."

_______________________________________

(27)

"Hey, hey Joven," Flitz was saying. Joven was about to fall asleep from boredom at his desk, so it took him for a few moments – not to mention Flitz snapping his fingers in front of his face a few times – before he finally woke up.

"What?" he mumbled out.

"There's a game night at the local bar on Friday night," Flitz said.

Joven perked up, grinning. "Ooo! I love game night!"

"I know you do."

But then Joven deflated, shoulders slumping dramatically to go along with it. "Oh, Sohinki's not going to be there though..."

"Why wouldn't he be?"

"He hates drinking," Joven pouted.

There was a _lot_ of alcohol when it came to any game/party night no matter where it was. It was all part of how they all wound out after yet another busy (boring) week at the office. Sohinki had wrinkled his nose at the mere mention of alcohol, telling him that he hated drunk people. Very, very insistently.

And yes, Joven _loved_ drinking on special occasions. Or these days, any occasion at all. It did a great job at making things not-so-bad and it was fun to see everyone's drunken tactics. He wondered if this is what had driven his mother to her wine. Not that she'd really had anyone to get drunk with, but that was beside the point.

Still, despite Joven's love for alcohol and, well, having a good time, he told himself that Sohinki's hate for drinking wasn't off-putting or anything. He was allowed to have his preferences (right?). Besides, he loved video games, which was what game night actually involved, so it couldn't be too bad.

Assuming that he would go, of course, which he wouldn't. Which sucked.

"Well, he doesn't have to drink. And besides, it's not like that. It's a work thing that Mr Raub's hosting." A pause. "The whole office is going."

Wait.

"The _whole_ office is going?" Joven asked, voice weaved with hope.

Flitz nodded. "The _whole office is going_."

Joven smiled, eyes instinctively drawn to where Sohinki was working at his desk, a million miles away yet only an inch away from him.

_The whole office is going_.Save

Save

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's chapter 2! Let me know what you thought in the comments below. Chapter 3 should be posted in 1-2 weeks. See you then.


	4. Chapter 3

(28)

Joven rocked up to the party fashionably late to the roars of people yelling at each other in a game of Mario Party.

He was, of course, searching for one person and one person only, hoping against hope that Sohinki would be here. Sohinki had said that he normally didn't do this kind of stuff, but maybe the promise of seeing Joven would be enough for him to come.

And like a completely perfect dream, there he was. He was wearing a hoodie that looked like it had dwarfed him at some point in an earlier life – Joven could relate to _that_ , hello being a sophomore in high school wearing a fedora and leather jacket –

"Hello," Sohinki greeted him with hidden enthusiasm. It was completely and utterly adorable, not to mention infatuating. "I didn't know you'd be here."

Joven's heart stopped, not being able to believe his luck. "You wanted me to – "

"Hey, what's up man?" Flitz appeared in front of him with a grin, clapping Joven on the shoulder.

_Goddamn it Flitz!_ Joven wanted to shout as he was pulled into a hug, but totally didn't.

"Sohinki, you're up!" someone shouted from the distance, probably someone from the couch for Mario Party.

"OK!" Sohinki called back.

"Wait – " Joven protested, but Sohinki was already on the other side of the room.

He sighed.

"You're pathetic," Flitz snickered fondly.

"Shut up," Joven retorted, running after Sohinki.

At the TV, it was Courtney, Sohinki, Ian and Anthony playing the minigame with all the coloured panels in a circle. Soar to Score; that was the name of it.

And to Joven's delight, it was Sohinki's turn.

"I'm gonna use the boom technique," Sohinki shouted.

"Oh come on! I came up with that one," Courtney complained.

"You did so well with it though," Anthony said.

"Which is why we're all using it," Sohinki finished, causing Joven to chuckle to himself.

"You can do it Sohinki!" Joven encouraged him.

"Thanks Joven," he called out cheerfully.

Sohinki's in-game character, Yoshi, continued to whirl around on the spinning rope. And it hit Joven that –

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!" Everyone shouted.

– as Yoshi went flying through the air and landed on the 100 and everyone roared in response, that this was absolutely perfect. It felt like destiny that Sohinki had gotten a perfect score that throw and it was because of Joven's encouragement.

And when Yoshi landed on the 100 again after more of Joven's encouragement, Sohinki punching his fist up in victory, Joven knew that this had been fate.

Soar to Score, indeed.

*~*

Joven had joined in for one round after that, swapping out with Ian. Sohinki had smashed them all, as predicted, but Joven was so busy laughing and smiling at him that he hadn't even been mad. Sohinki's focus at work carried over to video games; he was enraptured when playing, focus zeroed in on timing, technique and precision. His passion for them was pure and utterly thrilling.

After that round, though, they'd both retired from the game. Handing their controllers off to Shayne and Keith, they'd wandered off to the bar.

Joven got himself some alcohol from the bartender. He didn't know what it was, but the strongest they had was mid-strength, which was probably for the best. He did want to be coherent while talking to Sohinki, after all. When the bartender asked Sohinki whether he wanted anything, Sohinki shook his head and shuffled closer to Joven.

Joven's heart flip-flopped in his chest.

The bartender simply smiled, looking back and forth between them, before saying that Joven's drink was on the house. Joven smiled before picking up his beer and lifting the bottle up in thanks.

That was when they ran into Mari.

"Hey guys!" She called out with a big smile, purple hair shining.

"Hey Mari," Sohinki smiled at her pleasantly.

"You don't have a drink?" she looked at Sohinki's empty hands.

"No, I don't feel like drinking tonight."

Mari rolled her eyes but let it go. "Alright, where's the nearest table?"

*~*

They were in one of those round booths, the ones that could sit ten people in a circle if they tried hard enough. On one particular night, Joven remembered, there'd been thirteen people in there one time; Joven being the odd one out amongst six couples, of course.

Well, now he wouldn't be the odd one out.

"You're amazing at Mario Party," Joven admired Sohinki, pointing at the TV where another round was happening, this time with David, Flitz, Shayne and Mr Raub.

Sohinki followed Joven's gesture and then turned back to him. "Thanks man," he smiled. "It would have been cool if they had Zombie U, but Mario Party's fun."

"I love zombies!" Joven banged his bottle on the table eagerly (luckily not spilling anything nor cracking the glass), to which Mari just rolled her eyes.

"Joven's obsessed with the zombie apocalypse. He claims that he used to live with Wes – friend of ours – because he was his zombie plan."

"He was!" Joven exclaimed. "But I wanted my own space, so I moved out."

"Wes also moved in with his girlfriend Remina," Mari added.

"Really?" Sohinki nodded a few times, almost to himself. "It looks like a lot of you are paired off."

"Oh yeah," Mari was saying now. "David and Brina, Mr Raub and Ashley, me and Peter –"

"OK, OK, I get it," Sohinki chuckled. "For real, though, I wouldn't be any good in a zombie apocalypse."

"Now I don't believe that," Joven told him firmly.

Sohinki shrugged. "I really wouldn't. The only thing that I'm good at that's relevant to the apocalypse at all is playing video games."

"Well, you could be a sniper for me or something then," Joven smiled.

Sohinki chuckled, cheeks flushing, before smiling back.

"So, are you dating anyone?" Mari asked bluntly.

Sohinki lifted his eyebrows, just as surprised as Joven was, but Joven couldn't help but admire when Sohinki took it in his stride.

"No," he said as though the idea of anything else was ridiculous.

Well.

"Why not?" Mari asked.

"Because I don't want to. Especially not at the moment."

"Not at the moment?" Joven asked coyly. "Do you want to date anyone?"

Mari placed a hand against her forehead in exasperation. "Joven, he just said that he didn't want a partner."

"I meant –" Joven spluttered, but then stopped himself. Asking Sohinki what he'd actually wanted to ask – whether he would want to date anyone _later_ – would surely seal the coffin to his own doom. And by doom, he meant not being with Sohinki for the rest of his life.

So instead, Joven shrugged and let it go.

Not that he actually _would_ , though.

Not before they had a chance together.

"So why don't you want to date anyone?" Mari questioned Sohinki.

"Um, well..." Sohinki trailed off. "The thing is, I'm just not comfortable being anyone's anything. Like, I'm not comfortable being anyone's boyfriend."

"Really?"

"Yeah, like – " Sohinki pursed his lips momentarily as he gathered his thoughts. "I don't feel comfortable being anyone's anything right now," he repeated.

_Right now_ , Joven replayed in his head. _Not right now. So maybe one day –_

"Relationships are complicated and people's feelings get hurt." Sohinki continued. "Who needs it? I certainly don't."

And yes, Joven agreed – more than anything, really – but, "What happens if you fall in love?"

Because he _had_.

Sohinki looked at him as he'd just lost his mind. "You don't believe that, do you?"

"Well, of course I do! I mean, it's love it's not Santa Claus."

"Okay, first of all, I'm Jewish so I don't believe in Santa Claus, but also I've dated people before and I don't think I've ever really felt it."

"Well maybe –"

"Love's not real it's a fantasy." And that smile, that _smile_ , that little upturn of the lips full of... _everything_...had Joven real bad.

Love wasn't a fantasy: love was sitting right in front of him.

"OK, that is bullshit." Joven protested loudly.

"And even if it were real," Sohinki had raised his voice too, "most marriages end in divorce these days." He paused. "Like my parents," he mumbled.

Joven leaned in, eyes only on Sohinki. "My parents also got divorced too," he admitted. "But I think you're wrong."

Sohinki briefly tilted his head to the side. "What is it that I'm missing then?" He paused to straighten up.

Joven opened his mouth to speak.

"And don't say, _'Oh, you'll know it when you feel it'_ ," he interjected loudly in a Bill Cosby voice, doing jazz hands as part of his imitation. "Or _'Oh, you just have to find the right person'–_ " he put his hands down. " – because that is bullshit."

"But I _do_ know it when you feel it." Joven's eyes furrowed at the phrasing. "I mean, you know it when you feel it. Like, you _do_ know."

It was in the slight tilt of Sohinki's head again, how it made the little upturn of his lips and his green eyes shine just that little bit more.

If he had any idea just how much Joven loved him...yes, there would no doubt then, none whatsoever, in Sohinki's mind about love being real.

"We'll just have to agree to disagree, then," Sohinki said, although Joven would tell that he actually wanted to argue his point further; all night if he could.

"Yeah, sure," Joven replied, just as truthful about it as Sohinki was; ie. not at all, because, well, how could Sohinki still not believe that love was real? What with the way Joven was gazing at him?

"Hey Joven, we've got some karaoke going on the other side of the bar. Wanna sing some terrible tunes for us?" Mari shouted, playfully shoving Joven.

Joven jumped, half of his drink spilling all over his hands.

Mari cackled in delighted mirth. "Oh Joven," she shook her head before doubling over in laughter.

Joven sucked the alcohol from his fingers into his mouth before throwing back the rest of his drink in one go, slamming the now-empty glass back onto the table. "Is it free?"

"Yeah it's free," Mari answered. "What song do you want?"

*~*

" _Although loneliness has always been a friend of mine_ ," Joven sang. " _I'm leavin' my life in your hands_."

Sohinki and Mari cheered from where they stood next to the bar, watching him perform.

" _People say I'm crazy and that I am blind, risking it all in a glance,_ " Joven continued to sing.

Joven couldn't help but get lost in the song he was singing. His drunk mind barely registered how fitting, how _perfect_ this song was for his situation. Sohinki, Sohinki, Sohinki. Always Sohinki.

" _I don't care who you are, where you're from, what you did, as long as you love me_ ," Joven belted out.

Sohinki whooped, and Joven felt his heart swell. _This_ is what he wanted. _This_ is what he wanted his life to be; belting out an awesome 90s song at the top of his lungs to the cheers and applause of Sohinki.

Later, after Joven had finished his song and the party had died down for the night, Joven, Flitz and Sohinki headed out of the bar. Peter had picked Mari up and David had gone home with Brina.

Joven was pleasantly buzzed from the one bottle he'd drank that night. He was in that dazed state; not plastered, but he did feel like he was high in the clouds. Not that people didn't think he was in the clouds already, but that was beside the point.

"Alright, it's been a fun night, I'll see you guys next week," Flitz waved at Joven and Sohinki in farewell and both of them waved back.

But just as he was about to walk away, he added one thing. "Oh, by the way," he said to Sohinki, leaning in closer so that he could hear him. "He _likes_ you," he pointed at Joven.

"Nope, nope, nope, _bye!_ " Joven shoved at Flitz because he had to shut the hell up why was he telling Sohinki this? Didn't he know that Sohinki could reject him?

Flitz wasn't fazed, of course. He simply grinned knowingly at both of them and left.

Once Flitz was gone, Sohinki looked up at Joven insistently. "So," he said.

"What?" Joven's voice had suddenly decided to be more low-pitched. Great.

"Is it true then?"

"What is?"

"That you like me."

Joven smiled and let out a sheepish chuckle. "Yeah, of course I like you."

"As a friend?"

Joven's heart plummeted.

All Joven could see was him and Sohinki at their wedding together; of staring into Sohinki's beautiful eyes, Sohinki's warm hands in his, neither of them able to wait for the priest to finalise the marriage before sailing into each other's arms. Of how gorgeous Sohinki would look in his suit – maybe purple, his t-shirt tonight was purple and it made him look really dapper . Of being able to finally live the fairytale rollercoaster of married life. Of finally being _complete_.

"Yeah, of course as friends," tumbled out of Joven's mouth instead.

"Just as friends?"

Joven's heart soared but a heavy weight had set inside of him.

_Scared_ , his brain told him. _Scared_ , because usually stuff like this wasn't asked. It was like being tossed into the ocean without a lifeboat. Everything in Joven's brain was screaming at him to just tell him already, to just _get the fairytale started already_ –

But he didn't want to fuck it up.

And maybe if he said no hard enough Sohinki would pick up on his hesitation and do it all for him. Like, the whole _get-them-together_ thing.

"Yeah, yeah of course," he stammered. "As friends, yeah."

Fuck.

"Why?" Joven had to ask, as if he hadn't said enough already. Because apparently he was really good at sealing his own coffin.

"No reason," Sohinki said carefully. "I just thought that we could be friends. You're a cool guy, Joven," he added almost like an afterthought.

Joven gazed at Sohinki with bubbling fondness. His eyes shone under the bright outdoor lights of the bar. His beard, perfectly trimmed like always. His soft cheeks. The smile lines on his forehead. And yes, smile lines did exist, thank you very much. It was _Sohinki_.

Who had just said Joven was cool. Which in his terms, was basically great, awesome and _fantastic_.

"Thanks," Joven breathed out. "I know I am. And..." Oh, those lips... "Yeah, we should be friends."

"OK," Sohinki replied softly, intimately, sweetly. Those plump lips would be all soft and probing against his own, deep and sweet and _Sohinki_ and –

"Well, I have to go that way," Sohinki pointed behind him, voice still a murmur.

Joven's heart was _pounding._ If only they weren't going in opposite directions. If only he lived closer...

"So...goodnight," Sohinki finished.

"Goodnight," Joven answered reluctantly, watching as Sohinki turned and walked away before he'd even finished speaking.

Joven sighed, staring after him long after he'd disappeared into the night, before finally turning and leaving in the other direction.

_______________________________________

(31)

"You like me, don't you?"

They were in the copy room, alone, both standing at their printers waiting for their stuff to finish copying. Except that Sohinki had just left his to go stand next to Joven and knowingly make that statement. Bold, fierce and determined; the very essence of Sohinki.

Electric, too, judging by Joven's already heavy panting. He hadn't even turned to face him yet.

When he did, what he saw took his breath away.

Sohinki had stepped close to him, enough so that he could feel Sohinki's breath on his face. His eyes were blown wide, mouth slightly open. With just a little bit of movement, their lips could be colliding.

Sohinki took another step closer. "In a romantic way?" he murmured, eyes falling to Joven's lips.

Joven's eyes flickered back down to Sohinki's lips then back up, trying desperately to communicate _yes, yes, yes_ with his eyes.

Sohinki smashed his mouth against Joven's.

Joven melted immediately. His hands flailed around Sohinki's shoulders, then his cheeks, then shoulders again. He didn't know which part to settle on because everything was _perfect_. Sohinki's hands cupped Joven's cheeks, pressing closer. His arms wound around Joven's neck as Joven's hands continued dipping down Sohinki's body, moving down to his hips then up his waist then all around his back and splaying just above his ass –

Then Sohinki pulled away with a smack, arms unwinding from where they'd perched on Joven's shoulder blades.

_Beep._

Sohinki slowly leaned in for another kiss and Joven met it. This one was slower, tenderer, more passionate, yet briefer. Before Joven knew it, Sohinki was pulling away. Sohinki's breath ghosted Joven's lips before he shuffled away completely. Joven already missed his warmth.

Joven kept his eyes closed – when had they fallen closed anyway? – as the shuffling of paper could be heard. Then there was a shuffling of sneakers towards him, and Joven opened his eyes, thinking that Sohinki would go in for another kiss –

Only to find Sohinki staring at him, wide-eyed and shocked, before walking away.

Joven stared after him, wondering what the fuck had just happened.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's chapter 3! I hope you're all enjoying it =). Leave kudos and comment below if you're liking this.
> 
> Chapter 4 should be released in 1 week.


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many parts of life - and chapters of a story - can be longer or shorter than expected. What's important is to take it as it is and roll with it. Hope you guys enjoy this (short) chapter!

(282)

“Hey, hey Sohinki,” Joven held up the big red bathtub for MouseTrap, pointing at the ball-sized hole in it. “The bathtub’s broken.”

Sohinki was silent as he continued setting up the game.

Joven put the bathtub down on the floor and starting turning the crank at the beginning of the setup. “Hey, hey Sohinki,” he grinned, turning the crank over and over, watching it as the gears turned but nothing was set off. “This game is broken!”

Sohinki still wasn’t paying attention. His face was blank and unenthusiastic. He was just fiddling with the chute piece he was holding in his hands.

“I’m going to get coffee,” Sohinki said, standing up.

Joven craned his head up, mouth opening to say something, but Sohinki was already gone.

_______________________________________

(34)

“I have a yellow,” Joven said, holding up a big yellow piece for Mousetrap. It wasn’t the lamp post – which was already down – or the tub or one of the gears, but it was still a piece.

“Oh wow, yeah, good job Joven,” Sohinki said, taking the piece from him and placing it on the board.

Then Joven found the bathtub piece.

He gasped excitedly. “Hey, hey Sohinki,” he grinned and waved it in Sohinki’s face. “The bathtub’s broken.”

Sohinki burst out into a short laugh, Joven’s grin widening to go along with it. “It’s got a hole, oh no!” Sohinki bemoaned in pretend sadness.

“How will we ever fix this hole?”’

“Have you got any tape?”

“No, but how about some wood? Some wood down for this hole?"

“What?” Sohinki cried in feigned outrage, though he was laughing too hard for it to be true anger. “Wood’s not gonna fix that!”

Joven giggled. Once he’d calmed down, he said, “Well let’s put this in anyway and try it and see?”

“Yeah.”

*~*

“Alright,” Sohinki was now leaning back into his seat, having placed the last Mousetrap piece. “You ready?”

“Yeah,” Joven was so, so, _so_ excited. It was 90s nostalgia all over again!

Then Sohinki launched into some sort of roleplay, and wasn’t _that_ fun to do. “Blue, blue – oh damn it Jovie,” Sohinki playfully whacked Joven on the arm, “You landed on the space!”

“I win! I win!” Joven cheered, pumping both arms up high in the air.

“Oh no, you might get caught in the – ” Sohinki grinned at Joven for emphasis.

And together they chanted, “ _Mouse trap!_ ”

“Boom!” Joven added, making a big gesture with his hands.

Then Sohinki turned the crank. They both waited with heavy anticipation, watching as the elastic-activated lever snapped, which hit a swinging boot, which caused the bucket to be kicked, which sent the marble down the zig-zagging incline and through the chute. Then the marble actually managed to hit the vertical pole, the top of which pushed the other marble on top, which fell into a bathtub, which fell onto a seesaw, which actually kicked the diver up high enough to land in the tub hard enough…

And then the cage was falling!

“YEAH! YEAH!” Joven screamed in delight pumping his arms up enthusiastically enough to jostle them out of their sockets.

Sohinki was laughing and pointing at where the cage had fallen. He started clapping. “You lost, I think.”

Joven didn’t care in the slightest. “WE DID IT!”

*~*

After that, they’d packed up Mousetrap and called it a night, since it was nearly 12am already.

“Normally I stay up till like, 3am playing video games,” Sohinki was telling Joven as the two of them walked back to Sohinki’s place.

“Is that what you’re gonna be doing now then?”

Sohinki gave Joven a small smile, hands in the pockets of his familiar mid-wash jeans. He didn’t answer until they reached the front door to his apartment. “No, not tonight,” he murmured.

Then he grabbed Joven’s shirt and he captured his lips lovingly, their mouths moving together as one. Joven pressed back, eyes automatically falling closed as he suckled on Sohinki’s bottom lip, warm from a night under fluorescent lighting in the midst of Los Angeles in spring.

Sohinki pulled away with a smack. Joven looked at down at him with hooded eyes.

But now, Sohinki looked a bit nervous. “Um…” Sohinki began slowly. “By the way, I’m not actually looking for anything… _serious_.” A few moments pause, but Joven had already frozen. “Is that OK?”

“Yeah!” Joven burst out abruptly, not really thinking about it. “Yeah that’s fine,” he shrugged, even though it wasn’t. “We’ll keep it casual, then?”

Joven must have imagined it, but Sohinki narrowed his eyes at Joven for a moment, suspicious.

Joven shuffled around awkwardly, trying to project that _yes, yes I’ll do it however you want me to do it_.

“And we’ll build up to slow, yeah,” Joven murmured to himself, although some part of him knew that Sohinki was able to hear him. They were standing so close, after all.

Sohinki stared at him for a long time, seeming to be looking for something in his face. For what, Joven didn’t know (genuine feelings, perhaps?), but Sohinki must have found it. Because –

“Yeah,” he breathed out, sounding relieved. “No attachments.”

Then they stared at each other, the atmosphere magnetic and beautiful and illustrious and _changing_ at the same time, and then Sohinki was opening his door and going in.

 _Yes,_ Joven thought as Sohinki gave him a last smile and shut the door behind him. _Sohinki was like the wind._

And it was _beautiful_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's chapter 4. Apologies for the shorter chapter this time. But thank you for reading anyway. Comment below with your thoughts and leave kudos too (if you haven't already)!
> 
> Chapter 5 will be released in 1 week.


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for this chapter being one day late. I could have posted it yesterday but then it would have been unedited and I didn't want to do that. Hope you all enjoy this chapter! (Also, there's a little surprise for you in the A/N after this chapter...)
> 
> The video for day 44 1/2 is actually a video from my own YouTube channel, Stelia22, where I recorded Joven's instagram story for the 2nd November 2016.

(303)

There's someone else is Sohinki's spot.

It's a new member of the greeting card team. Some random guy, who was as dull and boring as everything other than Sohinki was.

Sohinki had come and gone so quickly.

"So did you get him back or what?" Mari asked Joven from her desk to his left.

He'd barely heard her, of course. Everything had tunnelled into nothing but misery. Pure, unadulterated misery. Where Joven stared at Sohinki's replacement in the hopes that Sohinki would leap back in to his rightful place. Where Joven blasted out cheery songs with sad lyrics through his earphones. Where Joven wasn't working, even if he was 'supposed' to.

 

_Song: I Want You Back by NSYNC_

 

"Not yet, not yet. But I'm working on it," Joven answered

"Maybe you should write a book," Flitz pitched in. Joven slowly turned his office chair around to raise his eyebrow at him in disbelief. Flitz' earphones were out, and a different song was playing.

_Song: _Myrrhman by Talk Talk__

"That's how you get over someone. Now tell me again how you have nothing to do –"

" – I didn't even say anything," Joven interjected.

"You said it with your face," Flitz told him. Joven simply raised his eyebrow, already bored. "If you're bored you're probably not in control." And oh, Flitz was apparently a mind-reader now, like Sohinki had been. Is, _is_.

Is, because Joven was going to get him back.

"I highly doubt the cosmos gets bored," Flitz spewed out. "Create. Be a grand Galaxy. Create and express in writing."

"Yeah, well –"

Ding.

 _Inbox (1)_.

Joven frowned. He didn't usually get emails in the middle of work. He was low enough on the chain-pole that nobody really wanted him in a manger-y way. And if anyone wanted to talk to him they would have just come down and talked to him themselves. Or call a meeting, if it was Mr Raub.

So it must be –

_From: sohinki.business@gmail.com_

_To:_ _jovenshirebiz@gmail.com_

"Oh my God!" Joven shouted, jumping in his seat such that it bounced all over the place. He barely took notice of the people around him turning around to look at him, but luckily Flitz and Mari started distracting them for him. He grinned for the first time since everything, rubbing his hands together eagerly and chattering at rapid-fire speed, "This is it, this is it, this is it."

 _"It's really nice to hear from you buddy,"_ the email read. " _I can't this weekend, but maybe the next? Does this mean you're ready to be friends?_ "

Friends.

Friends.

 _Friends_.

It was like a – a dictation. Like a prison sentence.

And certainly not one that Joven was ready or willing to serve.

_______________________________________

(44½)

Jovenpressed the button on his phone to record an Instagram story, smile popping up on his face as soon as it started recording.

 

"Oh man, Sohinki be saving the day. Man I love Sohinki he got myself a little pumpkin spice latte. Look at this –" he held up the little bottle of it that he'd gotten earlier that day. "I didn't know they came in bottles! Day made."

_______________________________________

(44)

 

"Hey Joven."

Joven looked up from the article, "10 ways to say, 'Hello' in a card that your employer won't hound you about," that he was reading on his computer at work. The instant he saw that it was Sohinki, he straightened up with a jolt, back cracking from where he'd been slouched over for hours. Mari and Flitz were shared barely hidden snickers at how obvious Joven was being.

"Hey!" Joven's smile was bright, and he gasped when he saw a bottle in Sohinki's hands, his mouth watering even as he spoke. "What is that?" he asked eagerly.

Sohinki smiled and nodded, holding it out to him. "It's pumpkin spice latte."

Joven narrowed his eyes for a moment in confusion. "Don't they only come in cups?"

Sohinki's smile widened. "Well, now they come in bottles too."

Joven snatched it and held it up to his face, closely so that he could –

"Oh my God it's literally Pumpkin Spice Latte!" he exclaimed, looking up with nothing but wonderment on his face.

"Yes, that's what it is," Sohinki deadpanned, eyes gleaming with mirth.

"Oh Sohinki!" Joven cried, leaping up and throwing his arms around him, nearly bowling the poor guy over.

Sohinki chuckled. "You're welcome Joven."

Joven pulled away from the hug and plopped back down in his seat. "I thought they only came in cups!"

"Yes you already said that," Sohinki added fondly. "But no, they don't only come in cups. Normally they do but," he shrugged. "I saw a few bottles of it and thought I'd grab one for you."

Joven rotated the bottle round and around, smile growing wider on his face with every rotation. "This is from Starbucks?"

"Yeah, it's great, isn't it?"

"Hell yeah it is!"

"That's like, the whitest thing possible," Flitz snarked before bursting into laughter.

Mari snorted in amusement. "What, Starbucks?"

Flitz threw his head back, laughing even harder.

Mari started laughing too. "Come on Flitz, let them have this," she said through guffaws of laughter. "They won't even get alone time until 5pm."

"Alright, alright," Flitz conceded, but the playful snickers hadn't dissipated in the slightest.

And if Joven talked about it all day at work, recorded an Instagram story about it _and_ enthused on the phone about it to Wes until he told Joven that no, he didn't need to retell the story again, _twenty times was too much_ , well. Nobody needed to know about that.

_______________________________________

(95)

  _Song: All the Small Things by Blink 182  
_

"So this is the Los Angeles," Joven announced with a flourish as he stopped in front of a series of buildings on the street. Yes, he'd said it with _the_ in front of it. It was awesome, OK?

"Yes, that's the city we're currently in," Sohinki deadpanned. He leaned over and snarked, "You didn't need to tell me _that_."

Joven giggled like a delighted school girl. "But this is _special_ Los Angeles. This is California Plaza."

"Mmhmm," Sohinki hummed before leaning back up.

Side by side, they craned their necks up to the sky. Huge skyscrapers stood over them, protecting them from the troubles of the world. Around them, cars and people passed them with the honking of horns and the pitter-patters of feet. They weren't holding hands, but their hands were side by side, hovering close to each other's, so in Joven's eyes it counted.

"I've never been here before," Sohinki stated.

Joven looked over at him, smiling like a dope at Sohinki's slightly wide-eyed yet perfectly serious look despite the upwards tilt of his head. He giggled again. Sohinki didn't typically state the obvious, but it was _adorable_.

"It's really pretty," Joven commented, not even taking his eyes off Sohinki.

"I can see that," Sohinki stated.

Joven wanted to reach out and squeeze Sohinki's hand, but that wasn't really a thing that they'd done yet – they were going _slow_ OK, there weren't _problems_ – so for now, he let it be.

As they walked around, Joven took it upon himself to be a pseudo 'guide' for Sohinki. To show him the ropes. In Los Angeles and in love.

Suddenly he remembered something really exciting. He gasped, turning around and whacking Sohinki playfully on his upper arm.

"There's a Water Court here," Joven declared excitedly, bouncing around.

Sohinki narrowed his eyes in confusion. "There's a what?"

"A water court," Joven grinned, already bouncing away towards it.

"What's a water court?" Sohinki asked.

Joven turned back and grinned at him. "It's a water court."

Sohinki rolled his eyes. "Great. Thanks for your help," he quipped sarcastically.

Joven chuckled, before Sohinki chuckled along with him.

They rushed over to the aforementioned water court – or rather, Joven did. Sohinki strode like he knew exactly where he was going, even though he hadn't even known what a water court was until a few moments ago. And how did someone – anybody – even _do_ that, so completely and utterly perfectly?

They entered the big overhead sign that declared, 'Water Court'. In front of them stood a fountain; a slightly raised circular platform in the centre with water shooters on its outer edge, tiles around the centre leading down to the ground. Water flowed down the tiles and around the centre.

"Wow," Sohinki said as they stood in front of it. "This is pretty cool."

"I know right?" Joven enthused, bouncing around on his toes.'

With perfect timing, water shot up from the shooters, in huge vertical jet-streams.

"Yeah," Sohinki replied softly, smiling up at the jets of water as they shot up and then plummeted down. "It's beautiful."

"You're beautiful," Joven replied automatically, leaning closer to him to emphasise the point.

Sohinki gave him a small smile that made Joven's heart warm and beat hard in his chest all at once.

At that moment water shot up from the shooters again.

Sohinki jumped slightly.

Joven burst out laughing. "That's hilarious," he cackled.

Sohinki rolled his eyes. "Shut up." A moment later he challenged. "See if you can run through it before another stream comes up."

*~*

_Song: When the Day Met the Night by Panic! At the Disco_

On the top floor of Two California Plaza, the night-time skyline of Los Angeles shone.

Joven and Sohinki stood side by side, watching the endless towers of skyscrapers in front of them through the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows of the room they were standing in. The top floor was one big room; a clean and modern and shiny office filled with spacious work desks and luxurious office chairs. The room was faintly lit by the other commercial buildings far in front of them whose lights blared like particularly obnoxious car headlights.

Joven loved it.

He was still panting from the adrenaline rush that sneaking in here with Sohinki had caused. They'd crept in like particularly giggly, decidedly non-stealthy teenagers, but the security was non-existent so they hadn't had any problems. Still, the chance, however minor, of getting caught, had pumped through Joven's veins all the way up however many floors (52, according to Sohinki) this building had.

He was finally breathing evenly again, but the city view was as breath taking as ever.

"I'd love to live here," Joven sighed wistfully.

Sohinki scrunched his face up at him. "Really? You want to live in a commercial skyscraper filled with lawyers, accountants and bankers."

Joven chuckled. "Well, I used to be a financial advisor," he quipped lightly, even though _that_ experience had been anything but.

Sohinki chuckled too, but there was something...odd, about it. Like he somehow knew, even though Joven had _very clearly shown otherwise_ , that Joven hadn't really been happy as a financial advisor either. "Well, I saw a set of apartments nearby on the way here," he suggested.

"255 Grand Tower, yeah," Joven said without missing a beat.

"Oh yeah."

"It's an apartment tower."

"Yeah."

There's silence, but for once, Joven was content to just stare out of the window.

He remembered coming here as an early-20s college student over and over and over again. Of never getting sick of the way each window light from each building twinkled like the stars in the real night sky. Of the naïve dreams of being a presenter that had given him _purpose_ ; that had carried him through years of assignments and cramming for exams. Remembers how he had somehow ended up _here_ , in this job as a greeting card writer, even though that meant _settling_ , which is something he didn't _do_.

Except he had, hadn't he?

 _"Well you should do something else then,"_ Sohinki's voice rang in his head, an echo from months ago.

And it was so easy – sounded just as easy now as it had back then.

Something bitter rose in his throat.

"Joven?"

Joven snapped out of his daze, turning to Sohinki, eyes wide and blown. Sohinki's eyes were widened as well, just a bit, but it was just enough for Joven to see that Sohinki was concerned.

"Asyou OK?" Sohinki asked him gently.

 

Joven's breath hitched. His mind was still preoccupied by those lost dreams; those little shooting stars that had flown away into the night.

But those dreams – those _stars_ – had flown into Sohinki. It was in how moonlight streamed in through the window, somehow penetrating through hundreds of artificial building lights, to transform him into an ethereal being. It was in the way it lit up his cheeks and the greens of his eyes; the whites in his teeth and the happy creases in his forehead. Sohinki, like Joven's dreams, was in his element up here, and more than ever, Joven wanted it.

He wanted it more than anything.

"Yeah," he breathed out heavily.

Because the city was as breathtaking as ever, but _Sohinki_ was more breathtaking than anything.

They were silent for a few minutes, content with just each other and the view of the city.

"It's beautiful here," Joven murmured. "Especially here with you," he said, looking at Sohinki with all the affection that he had.

And now he was smiling at him, happiness shining in his eyes. Joven brushed stray hairs that didn't exist behind Sohinki's ear, just so he could touch Sohinki, memorising the shape of his ear, but he settled for tracing it with his eyes; in imaging how soft it would feel with his fingers.

"It's perfect," Sohinki whispered.

*~*

"Show me one of your films. Or your presenting reel, or whatever."

They were still up on top floor of the beautiful California Plaza building – had been for hours, well into the night – when Sohinki had declared this. They'd been talking about media, films ("I love anything 90s," Sohinki had said. "Me too!" Joven had crowed excitedly) and their own projects ("I want to be a writer. Unlike _some_ people, greeting card writing is actually something I find pretty cool." "Yeah, well, I've made my own films. Kind of."). Which had somehow led to this.

In response, Joven chuckled. "Well, it's not really a presenting _reel_ as such, but I did record a vlog type thing on my phone where I talk to the camera about stuff," Joven fished out his phone from his jeans pocket.

Sohinki nodded. "Oh yeah," he replied, leaning over to look at his phone screen more closely.

Joven leaned in closer – just to show it to him better, _totally nothing to do with it being Sohinki_ \- squinting at the phone so that he could actually press the play button without accidentally tapping anything else.

He'd pressed play on the first video he saw, and the screen was lit up with Joven sitting in front of his room in his crappy studio apartment.

It was filmed a few weeks ago, which didn't _really_ sound that new. But it was the most recent he'd filmed – hence at the top of his list of recordings – and while it was a bit rough and quite a bit unpolished, it was still _him_ , a proud super nerd rambling about all the video games and comic books and movies he loved.

Joven preened as the sound of his own voice washed over both their ears, his excitement nearly making him bounce where he stood. "That's my favourite Batman statue," he burst out before he could stop himself, pointing to an intricately carved Batman statue standing in the background of the video.

But Sohinki's lips upturned in a small smile. "That's cool," he murmured.

And that, _that_ – the interest in his voice, which Joven would only admit at death that he rarely saw – was what did it.

Words flooded out of Joven as the video kept playing, everything from the lighting to the sound to what he was talking about in the video to the funny dog that kept yapping from the other side of the street that'd had him refilming the video twice.

Sohinki didn't care.

He just kept smiling, listening to both Joven and the video at the same time. He wasn't just humouring him either. He asked a bunch of really thoughtful questions as Joven rambled freely and Joven actually had to wrack his brain to come up with answers to his more-difficult-than-usual questions.

It turned out that Sohinki had done production stuff a while ago before moving on from it, but he still had all the knowledge to keep up with Joven's quick rambling.

The video had long since finished playing. They'd both curled up in the luscious office chairs – and who ever thought Joven would describe a chair as _luscious_ , but it was soft fabric that he sunk into like a beanbag rather than the old, stiff chair he had to use at the office – well, Joven was curled up, Sohinki was sitting with perfect posture; and now there was silence.

Sohinki pressed his lips together for a moment, deep in thought.

"Why don't..." Sohinki started off matter-of-factly. "We film something...right now," he finished.

Joven's mouth dropped open. Suddenly the teenager-like feeling that had overtaken him when they'd snuck up here flew up again; the adrenaline and impulsiveness and doing-things-on-the-fly of it all. It was a life that Joven hadn't really had since his stupid greeting card job had bored him to death.

But meeting Sohinki had changed all that.

That's why, a moment later, a face-splitting grin spread across his face. "Sure."

*~*

(And so they spent the night filming together, as the moon hung in the sky and the lights lived forever on. As they laughed their way through a "tour guide" of the expansive office together, showing off the wonders of Los Angeles. As they yelled over each other excitedly even in the intro, where Joven _would_ have introduced Sohinki as his boyfriend but Sohinki had yelled, "This is a vlooog," before Joven could get a word in. As they did nothing but have a good time, making the world their oyster. As Joven's arm shook with how awkwardly it turned and stretched so that the front facing camera could get as much of everything in as possible ("Hey, I'll get a selfie stick next time!").

As the moon started to sink, and the vibrant colours of dawn came to light.)

*~*

(And later, much later, when the sun had risen and they headed back home – passing by Omni Los Angeles Hotel – Sohinki would ask Joven why he hadn't just moved here, to which Joven would have shrugged and said that he hadn't been able to afford it. Sohinki had dropped it, but it had lingered in Joven's head.

He hadn't really thought about it much at the time. Yes, he had thought about why he couldn't actually live here, but he hadn't ruminated or anything. What if, when he had moved away from Wes, he had decided to just take the bigger risk and move here rather than to the cheap, convenient but ultimately unsatisfying place he now lived at?

It didn't matter. Except now it did, because Sohinki had brought it up, and how could Sohinki do this? How could he just say a few words and they would be all that would be on Joven's mind for days and weeks and days on end?).Save

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Interesting tidbit #1:  
> Day 95, to me, is one of the most important in the movie. Tom and Summer are on an all-day date; they walk around LA, in which Tom shows his genuine love for architecture, after which Tom brings Summer to his favourite spot – a park bench overlooking LA – drawing how he’d redesign the layout of Los Angeles (if he could) on Summer’s arm.  
> But I figured that neither Sohinki nor Joven would want to be outdoors that much, and I wanted to challenge myself to find a different place for Joven and Sohinki’s “spot” to be, and so began my task of finding their “spot” for day 95.
> 
> Honestly, I just wanted them to be on the top of a random building, like how Quinn and Margo did in the movie Paper Towns. And what’s the tallest building in all of LA?  
> A quick look at Wikipedia told me that one of the tallest is Two California Plaza. I literally picked it because the name just sounded cool. Seconds after I decided to use it, I read the rest of the notes on Wikipedia and it turns out that it was the, “Tallest building constructed in Los Angeles in the 1990s.” The 1990s.
> 
> Perfect. (Ie. If you really think about it, and really look into some of the references to canon that I have and will make in this story (and some other things), you’ll see exactly why it being built in the 90s is perfect). And it’s a commercial building (http://articles.latimes.com/2014/feb/13/business/la-fi-property-report-20140213), so it’s actually kind-of-maybe-plausible for them to get into the top floor after-hours somehow (like Margo and Quinn did in Paper Towns) to overlook the city and its twinkling skyline.
> 
> Then I found out that Two California Plaza has a school of performing arts there; specifically the Coulburn School of Performing Arts. This would be how I translated Tom showing Summer his genuine passion for architecture into Joven showing Sohinki his genuine passion for presenting and, well, performing. It turns out that it’s a school for dancing and music only, not theatre, so it never ended up being in the story. But it’s still fascinating general knowledge, and its presence, however irrelevant it ended up being to Joven’s story, was one of the reasons why I picked California Plaza to be the “spot” in the first place.
> 
> And it turns out that there’s an apartment tower too. And a water court. The apartment tower, I thought, would be the perfect mechanism for which to explore the concept of having a dream (Joven wanting to be a presenter, paralleled to Tom’s dreams of architecture) but being afraid to go after it (Joven and Tom both settling into a job as a greeting card writer because they need the money). And the water court immediately made me think of the water fountain thing at Harry Potter World in Universal Studios LA that Joven, Sohinki and Wes found during their reward trip there for, Halo 5 Quidditch (Game Bang). For the water court scene, this blogpost: was how I described the water court despite never having been there myself. It was lifesaver for an otherwise impossible to write scene.
> 
> To be fair, I originally wasn’t going to use the water court at all. Two California Plaza also has the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) and Angel’s Flight, a railway that, back when it actually operated, tourists would typically ride. It also happened to be in the romantic movie La La Land starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, which is a total coincidence but totally awesome. But both MOCA and Angel’s Flight were unused in the story because it would make day 95 a little too important. (500) Days of Summer is about the days in a relationship that kind of happen yet you can’t really…define, so to speak. Having both MOCA and Angel’s Flight would bring too much definition into it. Not to mention that it would throw pacing (and my writing capabilities!) off. Oh, and MOCA is a museum of contemporary art. Bringing anything…contemporary…into it would make it all a little too…real.
> 
> This probably sounds too cryptic, but if I were to tell you what it actually meant right now that would be hinting a little too much at what will happen. Granted, if you’ve watched the movie and/or read/watched analysis of it, you probably know exactly what’s going to happen anyway. As well as exactly what I’m talking about (hopefully).  
> Oh, and the fact that Tom’s favourite spot overlooks (Two) California Plaza, and that the plaza itself was actually used in background shots (and is referred to) in the movie? Well, I didn’t find that out until after I’d already decided to use it for (500) Days of Sohinki.  
> [Also cut out was where they have lunch – Mendocino Farms – a sandwich place which (to me) is a throwback to when Joven, Sohinki and Lasercorn went to Which Wich in that one Lunchtime with Smosh Games video back in 2014.]  
> *~*  
> Thanks so much for reading! Leave kudos and comments if you liked this chapter and/or the tid-bit.  
> Chapter 6 will be released in 1-2 weeks.


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been two weeks but here it is. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter =).

(109)

 

Sohinki unlocked the door to his apartment and pushed it open, turning on the light before walking in.

“It’s pretty empty and there’s boxes everywhere,” he said, striding off to a different room – the kitchen, maybe? So maybe he was making coffee.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Joven replied, excitement thrumming through him at finally, _finally_ being able to see Sohinki’s place.

He gently closing the door behind him.

They were in the living room; that’s the first thing that was clear. There were a few unopened moving boxes stacked neatly in the corner, but it wasn’t really _empty_. There were just no ornaments or decorations around. But the basics were there: a plush red sofa, a nice coffee table, a TV and an Xbox One S with the Gears of Wars logo on it. But there was also a desk off to the side, which had a PC with two monitors, an Xbox 360 underneath and a blue-trimmed DXRacer chair. The walls were completely blank but impeccably clean – not a speck nor a hole anywhere – and the floor was made of polished wood linoleum that was illuminated by the fluorescent ceiling lights.

(For Joven, this was the night where everything changed. Sohinki usually kept himself at a distance; detached, neutral, casual. But that gap was slowly getting smaller. For here was Joven, in his world, a place few had been invited to see with their own eyes. And here was Sohinki, wanting him there. Him, and no one else.)

“Want to play Mega Man?” Sohinki asked him.

“Er…” Joven began awkwardly. He loved the Mega Man games, but be _really_ didn’t want to tell him that he’d never beaten a single one of them.

But after a moment, he realised he didn’t have to; he’d just let Sohinki do everything.

“Yeah sure,” he answered.

*~*

Sohinki had, of course, managed to wrangle it out of him that he’d never beaten any Mega Man game anyway.

Sure, it’d started off fine, with Sohinki automatically taking up the controller, but then Joven had said something about something – which, by the way, Joven couldn’t remember for shit because he tended to forget the things he himself said – and then suddenly Sohinki was shoving the controller at him and demanding that he do it, then, if he thought he was so good at it.

And – yeah. Joven’s crappy progress at the game had led to Sohinki figuring it out pretty quick that Joven had never beaten the game.

But then Sohinki did something Joven had never expected him to.

He helped Joven get through it.

He helped Joven beat the game.

And afterwards, Joven felt like he was on top of the world, grin as wide as the sun. Sohinki was grinning at him too, a tiny flush spreading across his cheeks in the lateness of the night. And with that, Joven bravely asked him whether they could turn in for the night together.

Sohinki smiled at him softly, and then led him to his bedroom.

*~*

Joven sighed in contentment as he sunk into the soft mattress next to Sohinki, the warmth from the blankets and the combined heat of their bodies chasing away the slight January chill. They were both wearing flannel pyjamas; Sohinki in over-sized Captain America ones and Joven in ones that he’d borrowed from Sohinki. Sohinki looked utterly adorable as he curled up in the sheets, one arm under his pillow and his other arm resting on top of it.

Joven snuggled further into his flannels. He loved that they were big on him even though they were Sohinki’s and Sohinki was smaller than him. He loved burying his nose in them, chasing the earthy scent that was saturated throughout them even though Sohinki rarely went out.

It left him warm and sated and content even though they hadn’t had sex that night.

Somehow, they’d started a game of, ‘Do you know *insert 90s thing here*’.

“Do you know…” Sohinki began, “The Duke Boys? Because –”

“All those Duke Boys are at it again,” Joven recited, because of _course_ he knew that.

A big smile broke out on Sohinki’s face. “I was just about to say that.”

“It’s like the bright orange car flying off a ramp, and – oh,” Joven rapidly tapped Sohinki on the shoulder repeatedly. “You can actually do that in Mafia 3.”

“Sail _bright orange cars_ off ramps?”

“No, like ramp a speed boat off of a ramp in the water.” He paused at Sohinki’s confused look. “Like in the Duke Boys.”

“A speed boat…” Sohinki trailed off to himself. “Oh yeah!” he exclaimed at normal volume. “Yeah I know what you mean. Fly into the air with a speed boat using a ramp like in Duke Boys.”

“That’s what I meant, yeah!”

They both laughed.

“See, you get me!” Joven continued with a wide smile.

Sohinki chuckled. “How about…”

“Hey, it’s my turn,” Joven realised.

“Oh yeah, it is.”

There was a dazed look on Sohinki’s face, which caused Joven to chuckle. He gently placed his hand on Sohinki’s cheek, feeling Sohinki’s cheeks mould to it as he smiled. Sohinki’s forgetfulness, however brief, was so rare and Joven’s heart rate ballooned in response.

“Sing the Bonanza theme song for me,” Joven demanded.

Sohinki’s expression became determined. “That’s not how this game works.” Despite his words, there was no maliciousness in his voice.

“It is how this works! Or it can be,” Joven protested.

“No. And that’s my final answer. Now ask another one.”

“OK, OK,” Joven gave in. “How about…the zombie brain thing?”

“The ‘zombie brain thing’,” Sohinki replied flatly. “Really, Joven?”

“What? Do you not remember it?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Ha!” Joven clapped his hands together. “I win!”

“Not until you describe it to me.”

Joven rolled his eyes. “Fiiiine.”

He thought for about five minutes about how to say it because, well, words were hard. Sohinki, thankfully, stayed dutifully silent. Most people wouldn’t do that for him – didn’t, hadn’t, _couldn’t_ , do that for him. Another wave of appreciation for Sohinki washed over him.

“OK I got it,” Joven said finally. “It was the Doctor Finklestein’s mushy gushy machine.”

Sohinki’s head bulged out in bewildered. “What?”

“I remember seeing the commercials for this! You can like eat it and stuff and it’s got all those little packets!”

“Packets?”

“Of chemicals obviously.”

“Oh, the Zombie Lab.”

“Yeah, that’s it, you got it!”

“Yeah, I do remember it, kind of. Jeez, ‘Doctor Finklestein’s mushy gushy machine’ wasn’t even _close_.”

“No, I knew what it was I just –”

“– that’s just your way of saying it?”

“Yeah!” And _oh_ , God, those words were so perfect. It was like so much of what Joven had said, past and present, made more sense. It wasn’t that he was dumb, necessarily. “I just have a different way of saying things.”

Funny how it was often an outside perspective that provided the most illumination. Or maybe it was just Sohinki. He was perfect, after all.

“Yeah,” Sohinki nodded.

And then the conversation devolved into how good those packets had tasted which led to talk about food, then how much they both hated popcorn (“But M&Ms with popcorn is pretty good,” “No, that’s disgusting Sohinki”) which led to M&Ms vs skittles and what would happen if someone put skittles in an Advil bottle as a prank.

At some point, Sohinki took Joven’s hand, his tiny hand warm and soft in Joven’s. Joven’s heart sang as he clasped Sohinki’s hand in his own, squeezing it gently. And with that, the night slipped away.

*~*

But early, very early in the morning, after trying to go to sleep – their conversation having wrapped up half an hour ago – Joven still hadn’t drifted.

Suddenly, Sohinki gasped awake.

It was a tiny gasp, only heard because it was silent everywhere else, and it was only because it was so shaky that Joven could tell that Sohinki was troubled.

“Sohinki?” he murmured softly, turning over onto his side from where he’d been laying on his back. “Are you OK?”

“Yeah.”

But it sounded detached and distant, as though he was lost in whatever dream he had had.

“Tell me about it?” he asked gently.

Sohinki smacked his lips, keeping his eyes on the ceiling, but just as Joven thought he wouldn’t tell him, he did.

“Like…I have these…dreams…” he confessed. “Just sometimes, where I’m…falling. But it starts off like I’m running really, really fast like I’m a superhuman being chased by serial killers. I mean, tonight wasn’t about serial killers…that’s a different dream but…it’s like… that adrenaline feeling is the same in both. And it’s like I need to get away, and I am. It’s like I’m falling, but I’m flying because my feet aren’t touching the ground anymore. And I get away and it’s such a relief. And now I’m gone, and _they’re_ gone and I’m completely safe. And I’m free. There’s nothing to bind me here. And yet…I’m completely alone.

And then I wake up.”

(Joven knew this wasn’t the kind of story that one just said on the fly. One had to earn them; had to be trusted enough to be told them, to be trusted enough that the other person felt safe to let down their walls. Had anyone else ever made it this far?)

“I’ve never told anyone that before.” Sohinki said with faint surprise, head turning to him, his body slightly curled up in a rare moment of vulernability.

(And that’s why Joven knew everything had changed.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Another short one, but then again I've never been good at separating a story into different chapters, let alone of consistent length. Once again, let me know in the comments below what you think.
> 
> Chapter 7 will be released in 1-2 weeks.


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